No7 'Total Renewal Micro-dermabraison Exfoliator'.

Let me warn you - this is going to be a rave. Why? Because I love this product. I have repurchased this so many times I have lost count. Seriously, I LOVE IT.

When I was around 16/17 I really got into exfoliating products because I suffered with dry patches on my cheeks and exfoliating was really the only way to get rid of them. I tried so many so-called exfoliators and was slightly disenchanted by trying one lame product after another. Sometimes there wouldn't be any exfoliating power to the product, it was like rubbing a cream containing tiny balls into your skin or they were like face washes with a few scratchy bits in. I wasn't enamoured. Then one day my dear mother came home with one of those No7 sample bags you get free if you spend over a certain amount. A little sample tube of an exfoliator was in there, so I used it one day, and my 17 year old self instantly fell in love; it was an exfoliator which actually exfoliated and seemed to work! No more dry cheek patches!



"Aluminium-oxide micro-crystals smooth, refine and renew sweeping away dull cells for incredable radiance from the first time you use it. Within 4 treatments stimulates skin cell renewal to work against fine lines, skin tone evens leaving skin softer, silky to touch and more refined. Helps to work against the appearance of dark areas, sun damaged or belmish prone skin too. Not to be used on sore sun-burnt skin."
In the beauty world there has been a move away from physical exfoliators towards chemical exfoliators. I am prescribed a chemical exfoliator (Retin-A) which is amazing for my acne, but you can't beat a good physical scrub every so often.

This is much stronger than your average facial scrub, and that is why I like it. My skin is very oily and prone to acne (but you already knew that right?) so I need a good effective exfoliating product to slough away all the dead skin and impurities to help prevent (more) blemishes and to help skin regenerate! After using this product I am always amazed how soft, renewed and glowing my skin is. You really notice the difference after a couple of weeks of use: my skin seemed more even in texture and appearance and skin seemed a lot softer and more refined. WIN!

I would not recommend this if you have sore/sensitive skin, because it can sting even on my skin, and I imagine it would be agony if you used it and had sore/sensitive skin. If you have normal/oily/combo skin, it is probably best to use this product every few days, since using it too often can make skin sore and overly-sensitive. Plus it's just not effective! I use mine a few days after I first applied my Retin-A for the week, but when I haven't been using the Retin-A for a couple of weeks I use it every 3 days. Sometimes my acne is so bad I can't use it, and I would say that if you do have acne which results in lots of whiteheads, wait until they've disappeared before use. You don't want to take the heads off the spots because scarring may occur!
When I do use this product, I always use it at night, so that my exfoliating all the potions and lotions I apply at night are more effective as the old dead gross skin has gone leaving the newness behind!

You don't need to use a lot of product to get results: I used a pea sized dot for each area: forehead, left cheek, chin, right cheek. A little bit does go a long way!

I don't find that this product reduces acne pimples occuring, but I do find that it helps at reducing the red pigmentation on the skin and uneven skintone the acne leaves behind, which is helpful for me because I do have some pigmentation issues as a result of my battle with acne.

I am an avid believer that man-made exfoliating material is the best, like the aluminium-oxide micro-crystals in this product, simply because the particles are more uniform, refined and rounder in shape than natural materials like peach kernel, nut shells or the like. They can be quite sharp and may damage the skin. The man-made exfoliating materials are obviously better for this reason, and yet are still effective at doing their job, revealing new fresh skin each time!

This product comes in as £11, which I think is astounding. It is such a high-quality product for a great price. Also, I have had my current tube for about 4 months so far, so that works out at just under £3 a month! If that isn't good value, then I don't know what is.

Packaging is simple. I bought mine before No7 had an image overhaul, so my tube is pearlescent white with a white cap. Simple and uncomplicated is how I like it. Thumbs up!

Overall I think this is an amazing product and there is nothing wrong with it at all in my book, it does exactly what it promises. It works at refining my skin and making it look all shiny and new, and the price is amazing. If you haven't got a tube...why the hell not?!

Soap & Glory's 'Scrub Your Nose In It'.

I actually bought this for my sister, and I've kinda stolen it back. Well, she can't use it anymore 'cause she's not medication that means she's not allowed to use any method of exfoliation.
So I thought I'd test it out...

It smells of mint (? my sense of smell is appalling. It probably actually smells of strawberries...I joke!) and it smells divine. There are a few scary looking ingredients on the back of the tube, and I'm not sure whether they contribute to the smell, but I can't complain as it doesn't claim to have no artificial fragrances or preservatives or whathaveyou.
It is the smell that really wakes you up in the morning and fills the bathroom with lovely scents, which is why I normally use it during my AM shower. I REALLY need waking up during the early hours, especially since the weather is so dark and rank now it's Winter!

So what you do is apply it onto your T-zone (forehead, nose and chin) and massage it into your skin, extending it out to the other areas of your face. I usually do this for ages because I think exfoliation is the key to great skin, and want to make sure the nasty dead stuff is all off, I could be standing there for about 5 minutes massaging and massaging. I do it gently mind, so I'm not actually damaging my skin. I wouldn't want that! But again, as mentioned before, I'm a skin-care freak, so I'd say you normal people would be fine with 1-2 minutes. You can also leave it on for an extra 3 minutes 'for an oil-absorbing, brightening, pore cleaning mask!'. When I normally use this product I just leave it at the exfoliation and wash it off, but it really does work at absorbing the excess oil from your skin. Afterwards your skin looks oil-free (duh) and quite matte, which really impressed me!

I would say don't use this if your skin is quite irritated, because it can sting. It's actually quite painful, the pain where you have to run around the bathroom fanning your face with your hands. But this is during one of my bad skin phases (horrid dry flaky irritated redness) so perhaps that was my own fault and no fault of the product.

It isn't a really intense exfoliation product, not like the Dermalogica 'Multivitamin Thermafoliant' (which I've reviewed here, and I'd normally use it as an everyday or every other day sort-of-product. It does do a good job of buffing skin and revealing nice fresh skin, but it's not intense enough for me. I have quite oily skin, and need something to really get into my pores. This product sort of 'scratches the surface' which is fine day-to-day, but not if I'm wanting to really clear out my skin.
I wouldn't repurchase again, but I think it would be suitable for most people. It's not one of those exfoliators which is basically a liquid with about five grains in, it is proper, erm, grainy!

So overall, it's a good product. A gorgeous smell, alright-ish texture and lovely kitsch packaging, but I'm afraid it's not industrial enough for me!